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Retail Fraud Attorney Waterford MI

Highly Rated Retail Fraud Attorney in Waterford

Criminal Defense AttorneyIf you need to go to Court in Waterford Michigan or anywhere in Oakland County because you have been charged with misdemeanor or felony retail fraud, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer who will fight for you.   No matter if your accusation is from a national retailer or a small Waterford business we can help you with your case. Get Hilf & Hilf, PLC on your side for immediate action and zealous steps taken toward obtaining positive results. Attorney Daniel Hilf appears before the Judges at the 51st District Court, the 6th Circuit Court, and throughout Oakland county on a regular basis aggressively defending all shoplifting charges.  

Having to go before a Judge may seem depressing and overwhelming, but it is important to remember that facing a retail fraud allegation does not make you a bad person.  In fact, retail fraud is prosecuted daily by the Waterford City Attorney and the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, but it is often based only upon one single incident of attempted retail fraud due to a temporary lapse in judgment.  However, just because shoplifting accusations are heard daily and frequently at the 51st District Court and elsewhere in Oakland County it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life in a bad way.  Any criminal conviction for retail theft can have a long lasting impact, because a shoplifting sentence may include any or all of the following outcomes: the loss of your freedom (incarceration); probation with strict conditions; loss of employment; professional licensing issues (for lawyers, accountants, nurses, stock brokers, and other positions that require State or Federal licensing); loss of educational opportunities; steep fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); and personal embarrassment.  If you are facing any shoplifting allegation, you need a experienced and respected defense help from a highly rated attorney who is totally on your side.

A retail theft charge is rooted in a variety of different behaviors, such as: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money or other store merchandise.  Felony and misdemeanor retail theft offenses that are commonly prosecuted at the 51st District Court in Waterford and other Michigan courtrooms include:

First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration) that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is $1,000 (one thousand dollars) or more, or if the merchandise involved is $200 (two hundred dollars) or more and the person has a prior theft conviction.  

Organized Retail Theft is felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration) that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions.  The offense occurs when the intent of the Defendant is to shoplift from one or more stores and then resell the stolen merchandise to others.

Second Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence (the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration), that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is at least $200 (two hundred dollars) but less than $1000 (one thousand dollars), or if the merchandise involved is under $200 (two hundred dollars) and the person has a prior theft conviction.  

Third Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 93 day maximum county jail sentence (the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration), that is prosecuted under either State law or local ordinance, when the merchandise involved in the offense is less than $200 (two hundred dollars).

Removal of a Theft Detection Device is a misdemeanor charges that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence (the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration), that is prosecuted under State law.

Hire a Top Rated Lawyer for your Waterford Michigan Case Who Specializes in Defending Shoplifting Accusations

Many businesses in Waterford have developed well thought out and comprehensive loss prevention policies with the goal of reducing retail fraud losses and insurance costs, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring store theft.  It is now common for a team of asset prevention personnel and high-tech shoplifting prevention equipment (such as merchandise sensors and closed circuit television) to be found within a store for the purpose of combating the costs and liabilities associated with retail fraud.  Even with this technology and retail fraud prevention training, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment (such as false identification and false interpretation of a situation), cultural issues, and procedural errors.

If you engage the services of attorney Daniel Hilf for your case, he will obtain all the available discovery materials to fully and properly defend your case, which can include the following: police report(s), loss prevention report(s), witness statement(s), in store video(s), police video(s), photograph(s), statement(s) the police and/or loss prevention claims that you made.  Attorney Hilf will provide you with great advice concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of a Judge or jury and fight the accusation, or whether to choose to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to be lenient with you. It is ultimately up to you to decide if you want to  seek a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or seek a favorable sentence agreement (an agreement with the Judge and/or prosecutor to impose a specific sentence, such as avoiding or limiting any term of confinement) or proceed to trial.  

A major decision for you is to hire zealous retail fraud defense representation to help you obtain the best possible result for your circumstances.  As previously stated, a retail fraud conviction will likely cause you a whole host of everyday problems in addition to criminal penalties, including making it extremely hard to find a job or career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft.  Hire a leading and top tier retail criminal defense lawyer for your Waterford case  - attorney Daniel Hilf - to help you.  Attorney Daniel Hilf is widely regarded throughout Oakland County, due to his over twenty years of experience inside and outside of Michigan courtrooms, helping individuals like yourself to fight for favorable results.

If you have Court in Waterford Michigan or elsewhere, now is the time to make an impactful and smart decision concerning your court representation. Contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC for the legal help you need for any pending retail fraud offense.